Dental connection



H. 1. FRIEDMANL' DENTAL CONNECTION. APPLICATION FILED MAYIQ. 1921.

1,413,847, I Patented Apr; 25, 1922.

v N fm E E v fig. 0-

' INVENTOR /%/7/3/ ffi/ka mmz ATTORNEY HENRY J; FRI DMA -0F CLEVELAND HEIGHTS,.0I-IIO.

DENTAL CONNECTION.

Application filed May 19,

To all whom it may] concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. FRIEDMAN,- a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland Heights, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, haveinvente'd' a new and'usefill-Dental Connection, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesto connecting means particularly applicable in dentistry and similar purposes.

The object o'fmy inventionis toprovide an improved connection between twoobjeots whereby one of the obje'ctsmay have certain movement or play in'all directions and with in certain limits in relationto theother ob ject and whereby the objects can be connected or disconnected readily and which connecting means requires the least possible space.

In many instancesit is necessary that: two objects shall be hel d' in such relation to each other that one of the objects can move in different directions in relation to the other object, for instance-in dentistry where it is necessary to hold a denture (an artificial tooth 'for instance) to a natural tooth without causing any binding or other inconvenient feeling in, the mouth, or preventing the denture from binding due to expansion or contraction due to change of temperature in the mouth while eating or drinking for-instance,- or preventing the denture from.mov-' ing in any direction, within limits; due to uneven pressure brought against the denture either downward or sid'ewise, but permitting the denture to be readily removed from the mouth for the purpose of inspection orcleaning and to be readily inserted in themouth.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawingin which Fig. 1 is a general side view of a connection: between a natural tooth 'and' a portion of a denture;

F ig. Q is-a section on line 2 of-Fig; 1; Fig- 3 I is'a section on line'3- of Fig. 2'; Fig; tisa section on line 4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 isa' seetional plan View (similar to Fig. 2) showing a modification; and Fig. 6' is a-section on line 6*of Fig. 5. i Similar reference ch'a-ractersrefer to lar parts throughout the views;

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1', 2,

4 3; and 4' where the denture A is to be helc to the natural tooth B2 The; natural tooth Bis supposed to bein Specificationof Letters Patent. Patented 1921. Serial No. 470,873.

normal condition in the gum while the den ture A s to be held theretoin such a manner that the same may move in all directions and at the same time be prevented from'detaching Itself and be readily inserted into or removed from the mouth.

The connection mechanism shown here consists of the clasp C. the bracket D, and '7 the guide E.

The claspC maybe made of anymaterial suitable for the purpose andisformed with the band 10 extending "part way around the so that the clasp may automatically attach or detach itself to or from the tooth B in a satisfactory manner the composition of this materlal however must not be" injurious to the human system. The form of the ends of the bandlO and the clip l'l'shouldbe made to conform to the tooth B and made. smooth to prevent injury to the tongue or interior of the mouth. e v

Thebracket D. may be made of any ma'terial suitable for the. purpose and is formed with the wall 12 the sides 13 and 14; bent down from the wall'12'an d' of substantially equal lengths,- and the lug 15 bent down from the' wal'l 1-2, at th'ebottom thereof and sub stantially midway between the: sides. 13 and 14 and extending in thesame direction and approximately the same distance as the sides 13' and. 1411' The free ends of the sides '13 and 14 and of the lug 15 are, preferably; fitted and soldered to tl'ieclasp .at' 16 as shown. This bracket may: however be se cured to the clasp in any other manner or bev made integral therewith.

The guide E may be made of any suitable material and is .formed? with the opening-1'7 somewhatwider thanlthe width of thelug 15, and with the foot 18 which, in this in stance, is secured to the guide by soldering on other suitable means and is bent. and

formed to suit the portion 19 of the denture ciency except when assemblii'ig the attachment as a whole. The width of the top por tion 20 of the guide E is less than the distance between the inside ofthe sides 13 and 11. and the thickness thereof is approximately one half of the inside length of the 7 sides 13 and 14.

After the parts C, D, and E are made up as units, they may be assembled as follows:

Place the guide E in the bracket D with the,

lug 15 projecting through the opening 17 in the guide E, then solder the three ends of the sides and the lug to the clasp C at 16 as shown, then imbed the foot 18 in the denances between all of the connecting parts.

In practice, this dental connection operates as follows: The tooth B is supposed to be naturally rooted in the gum. The denture, now assembled as set forth, has the clasp C attached. The denture is now placed I in the movuthwith the clasp C over the tooth B and pressed down until the clasp C engages the tooth B as desired at which stage the denture is in normal position and adapted to be moved in any direction due to the clearances between all of the connecting parts. Whenever an unequal down or side pressure is brought upon the teeth, as in mastication food for instance, the gums, jaw-bone and other human structures take care of such inequality in natural teeth, but in a fixed denture it would prove disastrous. When such unequal pressure is brought upon a denture provided with this invention, the probabilityfof disastrous results is eliminated. For instance, when a certain pressure is brought upon the tooth B and a greater pressure is brought upon the tooth 21, either downward or sidewise, the tooth 21. can move up or down or from side to side or from front to rear due to the clearances between all connecting parts and the denture will not be injured. The slot 17 has more up and down than side clearance in order to permit of placing a liner under the portion18 in case the gums shrink, or filing off the portion 18 in case the gums swell, or providing a means to properly adjust the denture either when it is first fitted or when later adjustment is necessary.

When vthe foot '18 is made separate and secured to the guide, the bracket D may be made integral with the clasp C and the foot 18 is then secured to the guide E after the same is inserted in its position over the lug 15. This arrangement eliminates a joint between the clasp and the bracket and perinits of quantity production of the separate parts and ready assemblage thereof when installing a denture.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6 which show a modification comprising the clasp F substantially the same as the clasp C, the bracket G, and the guide H.

The bracket G has the wall 22 and sides 23 and 24 similar to the wall 12 and sides 13 and 14, and also has the cylindrical projection 25 which extends to and is secured to the clasp F as are also the sides 23 and 24, similar to the sides 13 and 14.

vThe guide H has the circular opening 26, larger in diameter than the projection 25 to permit free movement between the bracket G and the guide H for the purposes previously set forth. i

All other features of this modificationbeing similar to those previously set forth.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an eflicient and economical means for attaching or detaching a denture, and

providing adjustment thereof, and permitting movement thereof in all directions, and eliminating binding or other inconveniences found in connect-ion with the usual denture.

I claim:

1. A dental connection comprising a clasp provided with a pocket and adapted to engage a natural tooth, a guide having one end thereof loosely fitting into said pocket and the other end thereof adapted tobe embedded in a denture.

2. A dental connection comprising aclasp provided with'a pocket and a lug projecting therein and adapted to engage a natural tooth, and a guide having one end thereof adapted to be embedded in a denture and the other end thereof loosely fitting into said pocket and over said lug.

3. A dental connection comprising aclasp adapted to engage a natural tooth and provided with an opening and with a lug extending across this opening, and a guide having one end thereof adapted-to be embedded in a denture and the other end thereof fitting loosely into said opening and over said lug. I 7

41. An apparatus of the character described comprising a clasp adapted to engage a support, a bracket on'said clasp and provided with a lug and two side walls, and a guide in said bracket and over said lug and pro vided with an opening larger than said lug and the upper portion thereof narrower than the distance between said two side walls,

5. An apparatus of the character described comprising a clasp adapted to engage a support, a bracket on said clasp and provided with a lug and two side walls, and a guide in said bracket and over said lug and than the distance between said two side walls and the lower portion thereof adapted clasp adapted to engage or disengage said to be secured to an article which is to be tooth and provided with an opening and connected to said support. with a lug extending acrossthis opening, 6. In a dental apparatus of the character and a guide having its lower end embedded described, the combination of a natural tooth in said denture and its upper end operating and a denture, with a connecting mechanism loosely in said opening and provided with between said natural tooth and said denture a slot operatin loosely over said lu which connecting mechanism comprises a %IENRY J FRIEDMAN; 

